NA speaker’s ruling on employee records cannot restrict citizens’ right to information, PIC rules

The Pakistan Information Commission has ruled that the National Assembly speaker cannot restrict citizens’ right to information simply by classifying records.

The commission said a classification must include reasons showing that the harm caused by disclosure outweighs the public interest. It issued the ruling while deciding two appeals filed by journalist Saddia Mazhar against the National Assembly Secretariat.

One appeal sought information about officers who had joined the secretariat on deputation from January 2018 onward. The requested material included their parent departments, grades, appointment dates, promotions and records related to their induction into the secretariat.

The National Assembly Secretariat argued that minutes of meetings, official file notes and recommendations concerning the employees had been classified under a ruling issued by the speaker on October 4, 2022. That ruling relied on the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007. The PIC’s decision challenged the idea that the classification alone could block access to the requested information.